In The Spotlight Guest Author: L. G. Flannigan

Posted on August 19, 2016 by lgflannigan

Delighted to be in the spotlight on Debz’s blog today. See what I have to say about my journey to publishing Ordering Flynn Matthews and read an excerpt from it.

Writerly Debz

My author today, I am delighted to say, I met (virtually) some time ago through Bridge House Publishing when one of her short stories was runner-up in our competition and published in On This Day. I finally got to meet her in person at a book launch at the end of last year. She is a wonderful writer and she asked me to work with her on a couple of her YA novels over the years but one of them really stood out and I urged her to submit it. Which she did. It got close to being signed, in fact one publisher did offer to publish an eBook but she held fire on that; it was also shortlisted in a big competition. Now that novel IS published I have asked to tell you something about her journey…

Please welcome L.G. Flannigan to the spotlight …

Author L.G.Flannigan

Introduce yourself:…

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Welcome to the chaos

Posted on March 17, 2016 by lgflannigan

My mind is bursting. Chaos reigns. Fleeting thoughts of the things I need to do: ~~Keanu Reeves,~~ finish proof reading OFM, again, write extra OFM fics, market OFM, read ‘how to’ articles, go to work, see family, contact friends, meet up with friends, tidy the house, help decorate the house, catch up with The Night Manager. And then there’s all the new fiction ideas that continue to write themselves in the dark recesses until I grab my notebook and scribble them down.

And there’s the moment when asked a question on a course that I search the chaos for an answer to find nothing. Nothing I tell you. Nothing at all in all those thoughts. Why? Because it’s not part of the chaos, it’s nothing to do with the things I have to, want to do. Not good when you’re meant to be ‘in the room’ and not miles away working through the list. All eyes on me waiting for the simple answer that never comes.

Today I am fortunate to be back in the room, my room. I’m proof reading OFM again for grammatical/punctuation errors. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve done this. I’m still finding errors. Surely I eradicated them last time? There has to be a grammatical goblin, a punctuation Puck sneaking them back in, sniggering as they do it.

As I work through the list – perhaps there is order in the chaos – I pull on that part of my female brain that is hard wired to multi-task but come up empty. Looking back it’s probably never been there. I do try. I mean I have four novels on the go for heaven’s sake but am I working on them all at the same time? No. I spend the majority of my time in my head. Perhaps that’s part of being a writer. Has the chaos got away from me though? Does it need to reigned in, just a little so I can move forward? Maybe. Or perhaps I should take heart in these words taken from the book of I Ching,

Before the beginning of great brilliance, there must be chaos. Before a brilliant person begins something great, they must look foolish to the crowd…

The brilliance is coming folks 😉 Ordering Flynn Matthews, the novel, out soon in digital format, along with a new website, extra fiction and fan forum.

Perhaps, as it’s Shakespeare Week I should have gone with a picture of Midsummer’s Night Dream with its chaos and I did mention Puck after all. So why is there a picture of KR? It’s relevant, honest, he gets a mention somewhere, I think!

Heroes

Posted on January 14, 2016 by lgflannigan

I am naturally optimistic, and most probably deluded because most days I wake up thinking something exciting is going to happen, but it is fact that we are all going to die. It’s something most of us ignore especially where our loved ones/heroes are concerned.

I am most thankful that this month my amazing dad has, at 75, survived his sixth operation in seven years and despite a few hiccups is doing well.

However this week two other men I admire, have died. And although I didn’t personally know them both deaths have saddened me. It seems too soon. Thinking of them brings back many memories – it’s confirmation that time is passing all too quickly.

David Bowie’s death has reminded me of certain friends (waves at Annette and Karen) and my secondary school science teacher (wish I could remember his name) who was obsessed with him and evenings out at the pub watching Let’s Dance, China Girl on the music video jukebox.

As someone who has stuck with the same style for far longer than I should, although thankfully I got rid of the 80’s perm years ago, I admire Bowie’s ability to reinvent himself. It kept him current. I was surprised to find out he was 69.

I’m back home from my parents for a few days and have been watching some of the Bowie documentaries with my husband and daughter. They’ve reminded me of the many Bowie songs I love. It’s difficult to single one out but Heroes is a shared favourite with my husband so it means more.

Every Christmas we watch the Die Hard movie. Alan Rickman made a great villain in Gruber. Did you know that he didn’t like guns and couldn’t fire one without flinching so the camera panned away when he shot Takagi? I’ve watched most of his movies, and all the Harry Potter movies more than once with my children. His wonderful Severus Snape is a favourite of ours. Sadly, even though he’s one of my favourite actors, I never got to see him perform on stage. Have to confess to having watched this In Demand video many times and am more than a little envious of Charlene Spiteri!